


Origins Of A Liar

by Frosty_Skies



Series: Character Explorations [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Lila Rossi is misunderstood, Maybe she needs a hug, Origin Story, Poor Lila
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frosty_Skies/pseuds/Frosty_Skies
Summary: Lila finally gets a backstory, and we realize that good and evil is all in our perception.
Series: Character Explorations [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662265
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	1. Prologue: A True Hero Never Quits

“You'll never get away with this!” Princess Wisteria yelled as the evil, cunning sorcerer Mildew The Unstoppable tied her up and gagged her.

“But you see Princess,” He cooed into her ear. “I already have.”

“That's what you think!”

Mildew whipped around to see who had spoken, and was knocked clean off his feet by the amazing Amazon warrior, Wonder Woman! But, alas, Mildew had been expecting her, and had rigged a brilliant trap! As soon as she began to untie the beautiful princess, she was repelled by a protection spell he had placed, and crashed into a wall that was covered in sticky goo!

“That's not fair,” five year old Lila crossed her arms over her tiny chest and glared at her father. “Wonder Woman is supposed to win. She's the good guy.”

Her father set down his daughter's wizard doll that he had been using as Mildew The Unstoppable, and put his arms gently on her shoulders. “The good guys don't ALWAYS win, sweetheart. Sometimes they lose. But if they're true heroes, then they'll never stop trying, and hopefully...They'll eventually win.”

Lila pouted. “But Wonder Woman always wins in the TV show.”

He laughed. “You have a point there, Lila. Alright, Wonder Woman beat Mildew. But I want you to remember: A true hero never quits.”

Lila nodded and they went back to their game. She didn't understand the true weight of what her father was trying to tell her, but she would later. She would carry those words in her heart and follow them like a golden rule for the rest of her life.

A true hero never quits.


	2. Never Good Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila's world falls apart, and she learns that she'll never be good enough.

Lila skipped easily through the hopscotch squares she had drawn with her friend, Charley, and picked up the small rock she had thrown. She turned around, went back through the whole thing, and handed it to an awestruck Charley. “That's how it's done.”

“How? How are you so good?” He asked.

“It's partially talent, but also dedicated practice.” She flipped her loose, brown hair over her shoulder like she had seen the cool girls do in TV shows.

Charley looked down at his watch. “Hey, it's five fifteen. Aren't you supposed to go back home now?”

“You're right. Thanks, Charley!” She waved at him as she ran off in the direction of home. “See you tomorrow!”

As she neared her house she slowed down, sensing that something was wrong. She made her way up the the steps and opened up the door, which was always unlocked, except when no one was home. “Mommy?” She poked her head inside and looked around. It was eerily quite and all of the lights were out. She stepped over the threshold and was about to go up to her room when she heard a sound that made her blood turn to ice.

Someone was crying.

Lila sprinted to the kitchen and found her mother quietly sobbing at the dinner table. Lila stood at her mother's side, not sure of what she should do. Her mother seemed to notice her or the first time, and looked at her with big, wet eyes before pulling her into a strong embrace.

“Mommy, what's wrong?” Lila didn't understand why her mother was acting this way. She had never seen her cry before. Her blood turned cold once more as realization dawned on her.

“Where's Daddy?”

Her mother shook her head and squeezed her tighter. Lila pushed her mother away and asked the dreadful question once more, this time with a few tears beginning to form in her green eyes and a cracking voice.

“Mommy, Where's Daddy?”

This caused her mother to break into loud, choking sobs. She raised a shaking arm and pointed towards the white door that led to the garage.

Lila left her broken mother at the table and wrenched open the door, slamming into her sullen father's leg. He looked down, surprised to see her. She ignored the throbbing pain in her face and stood with her arms crossed in front of him. “Daddy, what's going on? Why is Mommy crying?”

Her father crouched down so that he was eye-to-eye with her. “I'm going to be leaving for a little while. But don't worry, everything's going to be just fine.”

Lila uncrossed her arms, thoroughly confused. “Why are you leaving?”

He sighed and was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say. “I...I just have to leave. I'm sorry.” He got up to go but stopped when he felt small hands tug on his pants. He turned around to face his daughter, who was now on the brink of tears.

“Can't you stay?”

“No.”

“...Not even for me?”

Her father froze, but after a minute of silent contemplation he gave his answer. “No.”

Lila's hands fell to her sides and she watched as he hopped in one of the two cars inside the garage and left.

She curled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth as a wave of tears gushed from under her closed eyelids.

That was the day she learned she would never be good enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lila's sob story begins!
> 
> Lila's father was never mentioned at all in the show, so I figured this would be a good way of addressing that.


	3. Unwanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila struggles to cope with her new world and realizes that she is all alone and unwanted.

No sooner than the recess bell rang, did a swarm of children push and shove their way onto the playground.

Only seven year old Lila went out slowly, staying at the very back of the crowd. Ever since two years ago, when her father left, she had become introverted. She was unusually silent for her age, and her only friend was Charley. But even with him she was distant. All the other children started organizing a game to play, but Lila hung back at the edge of the grass, watching them.

“You should play with them,” Lila's teacher, Mrs. Carmen suggested. “I'm sure they'd be happy to have you.” Lila looked down at the ground and Mrs. Carmen gently pushed her in the direction of the other children. “Go and play.”

Lila sighed and slowly walked over to the group. “Could I play with you?” All of the kids jerked their heads up, startled. Most of them had never heard her voice before. She usually only spoke when absolutely necessary.

“Uh, sure,” A boy around the age of eight said. “We're going to play dodgeball. Emily and Billy are going to be team captains.” He pointed at a beautiful blonde girl and a sturdy boy, who looked like he was good at sports. Lila nodded and went to stand with all the unpicked children. Over the course of the next three minutes Emily and Billy picked all of the kids except for Lila and one other nervous looking boy with glasses. It was Emily's turn to pick, and after that the game would start. Whoever was not chosen would just have to sit on the sidelines and watch the other kids play.

“Hmm...” Emily narrowed her eyes, which were flicking in between the two of them. After a moment's hesitation she pointed at the scrawny, anxious boy. “You.”

Lila watched as all the other kids ran onto the field and began to play. She looked down at the ground and pushed a small pebble around with her foot. She hadn't expected them to pick her, the class recluse, but it still hurt nonetheless. She felt a hand rest comfortingly on her shoulder.

“I'm sorry, Lila.” Mrs. Carmen said soothingly. “Maybe next time.” Lila nodded and strolled over to a patch of grass in the shade where she could sit undisturbed until the next class.

* * *

Lila slowly walked up the steps to her house and went through the front door. She found her mother sitting puffy-eyed in the kitchen. “Mom?” She ventured, afraid her mother might break apart at the slightest touch..

“Huh?” Her mother glanced over at her, previously unaware that Lila was standing next to her. “Oh, it's you, Lila. Can you go play outside? I'm a little busy.”

“Okay.” Lila pivoted on her heel and went back through the door to sit on the steps with her head in her hands. She stared down at her feet where a snail was slowly making it's way to her. “You've got it easy, snail. You don't have to worry about family or friends.”

As if on cue she heard a familiar laugh and looked up to see her friend Charley on the other side of the street, playing with someone she had never met before. She watched them for another minute before crossing the road. Neither of them noticed her as she approached. “Hi.” She stood two feet away from them with her hands in her pockets.

Charley smiled and waved at her. “Hi, Lila.” He pointed the other boy who had dark brown skin and curly black hair. “This is Xavier.” Xavier waved.

“Can I play with you?” Lila asked.

“Oh, well...” Charley averted his gaze sheepishly. “This is a two person game...And we're kind of in the middle of it...”

“Oh, okay. I'm sorry for bothering you.” Lila understood. He wanted to play with his new, more fun friend. She couldn't really argue with that. She pushed her clenched fists deeper into her pockets as Charley and Xavier ran off, continuing their game. Their laughter only barely registered in the back of her mind as she went back to sit on her steps once again. She was all alone.

That's when she learned she was unwanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it took so long to make. I'm trying to make Lila relatable, and I hoped I've done that so far. There are probably only going to be two or three more chapters.


	4. Chapter Three: The Lies Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to get attention and feel loved, Lila begins weaving her web of lies

Lila sat at her desk in the classroom, counting down the minutes until math would start. She had just moved from Indiana to Pennsylvania over summer break, and she knew absolutely no one in her new town.

“Hey, where did you go on summer break?” A tall, skinny boy with red hair asked a petite, brunette girl.

“My family and I went to my uncle Andy's ranch down in Texas.” She answered.

Lila sighed. Who cared about stupid old summer vacation? All she had done was unpack boxes. As she glowered at the top of her desk, an idea popped into Lila's nine-year-old head. Nobody here knew her. She could completely reinvent herself. Demand their attention. But would it work? She bit her bottom lip. There was really only one way to find out.

She turned around to the two kids behind her. “That's nothing. I went to Alaska.”

Their eyes lit up in awe. “Did you ride on a dog sled?” The brunette asked.

Hook, line, and sinker. “Ride? I DROVE one. They held a race through town every Saturday.”

“Did you win?” A kid with thin glasses inquired. All the other children in the classroom were coming over to hear her story.

“Every. Single. TIME.” She grinned as the others gasped and bounced up and down excitedly. She could see they had more questions but at that moment the teacher came in and ordered them all to site down. Lila smirked to herself as the lesson began. They had fallen for it so easily. And if they had, why not everyone else? She had certainly gotten their attention. And on top of that, they all thought she was amazing now. But would it work every time? Or was this an exception? She would have to try it again just to make sure.

* * *

Lila surveyed the playground, looking for her next target. She narrowed her eyes at a group of kids standing near the largest slide. Two of them were the classmates she had done the first trick on. She stood up strait and approached the group naturally.

“Oh, I read that book!” A girl with fluffy, mouse-brown hair exclaimed. “I love the part where the princess escapes all by herself.”

“Sometimes I like to pretend to be the princess.” The petite girl from earlier had a whimsical look on her face.

“You know, I once met a princess.” They all turned to Lila, who was standing with her hands on her hips a foot away from them.

“Really? where? What was she like?” the petite girl leaned in closer, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

“It was in Africa. She was our age, and spoke English really well. We became great friends. We even had a sleep-over in her castle.”

“Y-you've been inside a CASTLE? And slept in it?!” She was leaning so close Lila thought she was about to fall over.

“Yep. The bed was really soft. And she had these gorgeous dolls. One actually looked a bit like you.”

The girl started emitting a soft, squealing sound. Lila turned around and walked away, satisfied with her results.

That's when the lies began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lila has begun her descent down the path of evil!


	5. Epilogue: New Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her first fight with Ladybug, Lila realizes just how far into the deep end she's gone.

“A-are you okay, honey?” Lila's mom called from downstairs as she stormed into her room and slammed the door.

“Yeah, mom. I'm fine!” She gritted her teeth in frustration. She had been THIS close to defeating Ladybug. Who did she think she was, claiming to be the savior of Paris? She was nothing but a hypocrite. After all, they both did essentially the same thing. Vied for peoples' attention and love. Why was Lila the one getting in trouble?

And Marinette...Marinette was just as bad. She was a goody two shoes who had no idea what the real world was like. Marinette didn't know her circumstances, or her history. What gave Marinette the right to judge her?

Lila plopped down on her bed in a huff. She would show them all. She was not one to be messed with. Revenge was eminent and would strike down upon her enemies when they least expected it. Looking up at the Wonder Woman poster above her bed, she frowned and quickly averted her eyes. Wonder Woman wouldn't be happy about what she had become. Tears welled up in her eyes, shame flooding through her. A liar. That was all she was, and all she ever would be. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let the memories that were usually shoved to the back of her mind rise to the surface. With them came questions. Questions so simple, yet so hard to answer.

Why did he leave?

Why did he never come back?

Why had this happened to her?

Sniffing, Lila sat up straight and wiped the tears from her eyes. Enough self-pity. She had to focus on what lay ahead. But she would never be able to reach her goal if the person she looked up to traveled on a different path than her. Reaching up to the poster that had been her treasure and comfort for many years, Lila ripped it off the wall and crumpled it up as best she could.

It was time for a new hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this is the end of Lila's story. (Yay, I finally completed one!) I hope you liked it, and I can't wait to write more stories like this one. Hope you have a wonderful day!

**Author's Note:**

> Almost every chapter will be a lesson. This is most likely going to be the only positive one.
> 
> Everybody has hero or a role model, even if they don't realize it. Why not have Wonder Woman be Lila's?


End file.
